Social psychology is the scientific study of how the thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by their social
environment and the presence of others, be they real or imagined.
One of the unique aspects of social psychology is that it has some 6
billion amateur practitioners. While relatively few of us have an
understanding of nuclear physics, almost all of us are interested in
observing and trying to understand the behavior of others in the
course of our social interactions. This course is designed to provide
an overview of some of the topics that social psychologists are
concerned with. Our survey of social psychology will begin with the
individual (to include discussions of attributions and perceptions of
others, self-concept, self-esteem, and self-presentation strategies),
then move to interactions between individuals (to include discussions
of helping behavior, aggression, and attraction and intimate
relationships), and finally to individuals within a group (to include
discussions of conformity, obedience, compliance, persuasion, group
processes, and stereotypes and prejudice). We will conclude the
course with a discussion of application of social psychology to the
judicial system.